Pro Cycling News From the USA Pro Challenge

USA Pro Challenge Analysis: Dark-Horse Contenders

(Photo by The peloton heads up Independence Pass on Stage 4 of the USA Pro Challenge. (Wil Matthews))

While the men who were expected to dominate the USA Pro Challenge are all stacked near the top of the standings, several riders who aren’t household names are still in contention as well.

Ivan Rovny (RusVelo, third overall at 0:06)
Even though he’s only 24 years old, RusVelo’s Ivan Rovny turned professional six years ago. And while he’s known primarily for his talents in time trials and on the track, the Russian won the world road race championship as a junior in 2005. So it’s no wonder why first Katusha, then RadioShack, signed him to WorldTour contracts. Unfortunately, Rovny was unable to make a big impression in the “what have you done for us lately” WorldTour and was forced to sign for the small budget RusVelo squad for 2012.

Rovny has already survived the race’s toughest mountains and sits in third place overall, only six seconds behind Tejay van Garderen and Christian Vande Velde. And with a final time trial in downtown Denver closing the event Sunday, the time trialist has to be considered a serious favorite to finish on the final podium—if not win the race overall. It all comes down to Saturday’s Stage 6 finish on Flagstaff Mountain. If the Russian can stay in contention there, a high finish beckons—and possibly a trip back to the WorldTour.

Ramiro Rincon (EPM-Une, seventh overall at 0:13)
EPM-Une’s Ramiro Rincon has hung tough throughout the week. Like most Colombians, he’s a pure climber who excels in the high mountains of Colorado. The winner of this season’s Tour of Guatemala, Rincon is likely waiting for Saturday’s final climb up Flagstaff Mountain to make his bid for overall glory. With the rest of the race’s climbers hoping to gain as much time as they can before Sunday’s time trial, Rincon will certainly have no trouble finding someone to pace him.

Damiano Caruso (Liquigas-Cannondale, ninth overall, at 0:17)
While his teammates Vincenzo Nibali and Ivan Basso have taken a less serious approach to the USA Pro Challenge, Damiano Caruso has raced as if he’s been training for it all summer. Only 24 years old, Caruso wore the white jersey as Best Young Rider for a few days at May’s Tour of Italy. A talented climber and one-day racer, Caruso will likely struggle in Sunday’s Denver time trial. He’ll therefore need a solid day in the mountains Saturday to keep himself well placed on GC. That said, Caruso currently leads the points classification. With high finishes in Stages 5 and 6, he could join teammate Peter Sagan as the second Liquigas-Cannondale rider to take home the green jersey in a major American stage race this season.

Lucas Euser (Spidertech Powered by C10, 11th overall, at 0:17)
Euser began Stage 4 in tenth place overall, but lost a spot when Bontrager-Livestrong’s Joseph Dombrowski finished in the group ahead of him in Beaver Creek. Euser’s professional career got off to a flying start when the American won a stage at the Tour de Georgia and the UCI-ranked Univest Grand Prix in 2008. Unfortunately, his aspirations were put on hold the following spring when he was hit by a car while training in Spain. After an eighth-place finish at the recent Tour of Utah, the Boulder resident will look to Flagstaff Mountain to help him climb to a high finish in Colorado.

Stage 5 begins with another monster climb: 11,541-foot Hoosier Pass. But although the riders will tackle two more passes during the 118-mile stage, expect a field sprint in Colorado Springs. Assuming the GC remains unchanged, the stage will be set for a showdown Saturday, with the 3.5-mile climb to Flagstaff Mountain’s Sunset Amphitheater offering pure climbers one final chance to gain an advantage before Sunday’s Denver time trial.